Icelandic director’s ‘Everest’ to open 72nd Venice Film Festival

Oscar-nominee, Jake Gyllenhaal, in a scene of the movie Everest (2015)

Universal Pictures’ disaster epic movie, Everest, will open the 72nd Venice Film Festival in September.

According to Hollywood Reporter, this movie, which is inspired by true events, depicts the story of two rival expeditions on Mount Everest which were shattered by a massive snow storm. Directed by Baltasar Kormakur, and starred by Jason Clark, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Keira Knightley, Everest was shot in Nepal and Italian Alps as well as two cinematic studios in Rome and UK.

Everest is the 10th feature of its Icelandic director, which is written in English and shot in 3D. Produced by the British company Working Title, Everest aims to repeat the achievement of the company’s last year picture, The Theory of Everything, which was nominated for five Oscars, and secured one for the best performance by an actor in the leading role.

The script of Everest is written by two of the most distinguished English screenwriters and dramatists, William Nicholson (Gladiator, 2000) and the Oscar-winner Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire, 2009). They have been inspired by five books related to the notorious 2014 avalanche, recognized as the deadliest day in the history of Mount Everest.

In recent years, the features which opened Venice Film Festival have generally won subsequent cinematic awards of the year. In this context, for instance, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman (2014), won 4 Academy Awards after its screening in Venice Film Festival. Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, which opened the Festival in 2013, also won one Oscar, and later turned into a blockbuster by selling more than one billion dollars in the box office.

Venice Film Festival is known as the oldest cinematic event in world’s history, and, along with Cannes and Berlin festivals, form the most esteemed film festivals, reputedly called as ‘Big Three.’ The 72nd Venice Film Festival will kick off on September 2, and will last until September 12.